How to Make Pickled Peppers - Easily! With Step-by-step Photos, Recipe, Directions, Ingredients

How to Make Homemade Pickled Peppers,
Hot or sweet, including Chilies, Pimiento, Hungarian, Banana, Jalapeno,
Etc.

You think only Peter Piper can pick a peck of peppers and pickle
them? Nah! Here's how to make and can your own pickled peppers! The
directions are complete with instructions in easy steps and completely
illustrated. In the winter when you open a jar, the peppers will taste MUCH
better than any store-bought canned peppers.

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of about 12 months, and aside
from storing in a cool, dark place, require no special attention.
If you'd rather can peppers UN-pickled, and you have a pressure canner,
see this page on how to can peppers.

Directions for Making Pickled Peppers

Yield: Typical yield is 9 pints

Ingredients

Peppers (see step 1) 8 lbs total:A typical mix is 4 lbs
of hot peppers AND 3 lbs of sweet red and green peppers, but you can mix
and match any type of peppers

5 cups vinegar (5%). Distilled white vinegar helps preserve the
original color of the peppers. Cider, wine and malt vinegars may be
safely used, but they tend to darken then color of the peppers.

1 cup water

4 tsp canning or pickling salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 cloves garlic

Equipment

Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)

Jar funnel ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores,
but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)

Large spoons and ladles

At least 1 large pot

One 6 - 8 quart pot or saucepan

Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box"
stores carry them - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and
rings)

1 Canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars after filling (about $30
to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big box stores and grocery
stores.). Note: we sell many sizes and types of canners for all types
of stoves and needs - see canning supplies

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the peppers

The most important step! You need peppers that are FRESH and
crisp. Limp, old peppers will make nasty tasting canned peppers.
Guests will probably throw them at you.. Select filled but tender, firm,
crisp peppers. Remove and discard any soft, diseased, spotted and rusty
pods. Select firm, young peppers. Older, larger peppers are often too
fibrous and tough.

Hot pepper caution: Wear plastic or
rubber gloves and do not touch your face while handling or cutting hot
peppers. If you do not wear gloves, wash hands thoroughly with soap and
water before touching your face or eyes. Hot peppers can burn your eyes and
skin - ever heard of pepper spray?

How many peppers and where to get them

You can grow your own, pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.
An average of 7 to 9 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints jars. A
bushel of peppers weighs 25 pounds and yields 20 to 30 pints canned; an
average of 1 pound per pint.

The recipe, as stated in the ingredients section, will yield about 9
pints

Step 2 - Prepare the jars and pressure canner

Wash the jars and lids

This is a good time to get the jars ready! The dishwasher is fine for
the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle. Otherwise put the jars
in boiling water for 10 minutes. I just put the lids in a small pot of
almost boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand"
(available from target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores;
and available online - see this page) to pull them out.

Get a large pot of water boiling

We will use this water to pour over the peppers and fill each jar
with liquid, after we've packed them full of peppers. I use the largest
pot I have, so that there is plenty of clean, boiling water ready when I
need it.

Get the pressure canner heating up

Rinse out your pressure canner, put the rack plate in the bottom, and
fill it to a depth of 4 inches with hot tap water. (of course, follow
the instruction that came with the canner, if they are different). Put
it on the stove over low heat, with the lid OFF of it, just to get it
heating up for later on.

Step 3 -Wash the peppers!

I'm sure you can figure out how to rinse the peppers in
plain cold or lukewarm water.

Step 4 - Cut up the peppers, remove seeds

Small peppers may be left whole. If small peppers are left whole, slash
2 to 4 slits in each. Large peppers should be quartered. Remove
cores and seeds.

Step 5 - Blister the peppers

Peppers have a skin that turns REALLY tough when you can the peppers,
so you've got to remove the skin before canning. Fortunately, there
is an easy trick to remove the skins. It's called "blistering".
Just heat up a fry pan to medium hot, and lay the peppers in there skin
side down. In just a few minutes, the skin will start bubble up and
darken - that's blistering - once cooled, the skin peels off easily by
hand.

Here are some other methods for how to blister
peppers:

Oven or broiler method: Place peppers in a hot oven or broiler
set at 400º to 450ºF (205º to 232ºC) for 6 to 8 minutes; using tongs
carefully turn pepper often until skin blisters evenly on all sides.

Stove top method: Place peppers on wire mesh over a hot electric or
gas burner; using tongs carefully turn peppers frequently, exposing all surfaces
to the heat source until skin blisters evenly on all sides.

Outdoor grill method: Place peppers on a charcoal or gas grill about 5
to 6 inches above glowing coals; using tongs carefully turn peppers frequently
(skin side down if they are cut up), exposing all surfaces to the heat source
until skin blisters evenly on all sides.

Microwave oven method: Place peppers in a microwave
safe dish; cover with secure air-tight lid to allow
for steam build up. Place container on rotating plate in
the center of the oven, then microwave for 7 to 8 minutes
depending the oven wattage and power level (settings
may vary depending on microwave oven used). The blistering is not
visible with this method. However, the skin will have a tougher, more
brittle texture compared to the raw pepper. Allow steam to fully develop
in the covered container for 1to 2 minutes after microwave cooking.
Caution: The hot steam will be released from container when the lid is
opened - don't get burned!

Peeling the Peppers

Allow the peppers to
cool by placing them in a pan and cover with a damp cloth. This will make
peeling the peppers easier. Then pull the blistered skin off the rest of the
pepper with a gentle tug and an occasional rinse with water. In areas of the
pepper where the blistering was not complete, just scrape the skin off with
a knife or vegetable peeler.

Step 6 - Combine and heat other ingredients

In the saucepan, combine:

5 cups vinegar (5%)

1 cup water

4 tsp canning or pickling salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 cloves garlic

Heat it to boiling and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove the garlic
(and discard).

Step 7 - Pack the jars and pour the vinegar
solution into each packed jar

Fill
jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace. Flatten whole peppers. You may add
1/2 teaspoon of salt to each pint jar, if desired for taste (it is not a
preservative). Fill jars loosely with peppers. Be sure to leave 1 inch
of space at the TOP of the jar. That is called "headspace" and is
needed for expansion during heading. Use a ladle or pyrex
measuring cup to carefully fill each packed jar with the vinegar
solution from step 6. The peppers should be covered and there should
still be 1/2 inch of airspace left in the top of each jar. Be careful
not to burn yourself, (or anyone else - children should be kept back
during this step!)

Step 8 - Put the lids and rings on

Put the lids on each jar and seal them by putting a ring on and
screwing it down snugly (but not with all your might, just "snug").

Step 9 - Boil the jars in the canner

Put the jars in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 inch
of water. Keep the water boiling. Boil them for 10 minutes. Remember
to adjust for altitudes and larger jars - see the table below!

Recommended process time for Pickled Hot
Peppers in a boiling-water canner.

Process Time at Altitudes of

Jar Size

0 - 1,000 ft

1,001 - 6,000 ft

Above 6,000 ft

Half-pints or Pints

10 min

15

20

Step 10 - Remove the jars

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool on a wooden cutting
board or a towel, without touching or bumping them in a draft-free
place (usually takes overnight), here they won't be bumped. You can then
remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen
them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture.
Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that
the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your
finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not
sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still
use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a
bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid)
and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok. You're done!

Other Equipment:

From left to right:

Jar lifting tongs
helpful to pick up hot jars

Lid lifter
- to remove lids from the pot
of hot water

Lid
- disposable - you may only
use them once

Ring
- holds the lids on the jar until after
the jars cool - then you don't need them

Canning jar funnel
- to fill the jars

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is it safe to can pickled peppers in a traditional water bath canner?

A. Yes. The instructions are above.

Q. Is it safe to can peppers (without pickling them) in a traditional
water bath canner? If so how long do you do process them?

A. The answer, quite simply is no - You
cannot "can peppers" in an ordinary water bath canner, without adding
vinegar and thus pickling them (DON'T confuse this statement with "you
may can PICKLED peppers in a water bath canner" (pickling them changes
everything). If you'd rather can peppers UN-pickled, and you have
a pressure canner,
see this page on how to can peppers.
Quoting from the
Ohio State University Extension's Fact Sheet:

"Pressure canning is the only safe method for home canning
vegetables (which are not being pickled OR have sufficient
natural acid, like tomatoes - ed). Clostridium botulinum
is the bacterium that causes botulism food poisoning in low-acid
foods, such as vegetables. The bacterial spores are destroyed
only when the vegetables are processed in a pressure canner at
240 degrees Fahrenheit (F) for the correct amount of time.

Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium commonly found
in vegetables and meats. It is harmless until it finds itself in
a moist, low-acid, oxygen-free environment or a partial vacuum.
Under these conditions, the bacterium can grow and produce
toxins dangerous to people and animals.

Do not process (low acid)
vegetables using the boiling water bath because the botulinum
bacteria can survive that method.

And Clemson
University provides these questions and answers:

Can fruits and vegetables be canned without heating if aspirin is
used? No. Aspirin should not be used in canning. It cannot be
relied on to prevent spoilage or to give satisfactory products.
Adequate heat treatment is the only safe procedure.

Is it safe to can peppers in a boiling water bath if vinegar
is used? No. Recommended processing methods must be used to
assure safety. Recommended processing times cannot be shortened if
vinegar is used in canning fresh vegetables. (This does not refer to
pickled vegetables.)

Salt and sugar are not preservatives for vegetables: they are added to
stabilize and improve flavor, but will not prevent spoilage.

Using Aspirin for Canning

Several years ago, a recipe circulated using aspirin to acidify
tomatoes and peppers for canning. Aspirin is not recommended for
canning. While it contains salicylic acid, it does not sufficiently
acidify tomatoes or peppers for safe hot water bath canning. Green
peppers are low acid foods and may only be processed safely in a
pressure canner. Lemon juice or vinegar is recommended to acidify tomato
products for safe water bath processing.

Think of it like smoking. We all know someone who
smoke their entire life and lived to be 90. But the cemeteries are
filled with the vast majority who didn't. You'll hear people say "my
grandmother did it that way for 20 years". But of course, the people
who died from food poisoning aren't around and often didn't have descendants
to tell their tale...

Pressure canners!

If you want to can low-acid foods such as red meats, sea food, poultry,
milk, and all fresh vegetables with the exception of most tomatoes,
you will need a pressure canners. These foods fit into the low
acid group since they have an acidity, or pH level, of 4.6 or greater. The
temperature which must be reached and maintained (for a specified amount
of time) to kill the bacteria is 240 F. Pressure canning is the only
canning method recommended safe by the U.S.D.A. for low-acid foods such as
vegetables, meats, and fish. Ordinary water bath canners can only reach
212 F and cannot to kill the types of bacteria that will grow in low acid
foods. This temperature can be reached only by creating steam under
pressure as achieved in quality pressure canners.

There are several manufacturers of pressure canners. The two
leading ones are Presto and All American (Wisconsin Aluminum). They are more
expensive than water bath canners, but extremely well built - I bought mine
in 1988 and it still looks and works like new!

Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam,
spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and
usually at lower prices than your local store!

Get them all here at the best prices on the internet!

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